The present invention relates generally to door systems, and more particularly to automatic door safety systems which use wireless links for sending information regarding the detection of a hazard condition or the operational status of the entire wireless system and hazard detection components of a system.
Automatic door operating systems are popular in commercial or residential settings. Such doors typically include the operation of overhead door systems, elevator doors or other automatic control systems to open and close doors in various categories. Such doors also typically provide for obstruction detection to prevent the door from continuing to close when the apparatus on the door senses an obstruction in the door's path. Such obstruction sensors and obstructions switches usually include means to activate internal contacting devices within such sensors when the switch is compressed when it strikes an obstruction during the operation of a door. Such switches may include normally open, compressible door edge cells which contain internal electrical conductors which contact each other upon compression of the cell.
Present systems utilize such door edge systems usually along the leading edge of the door in a location where the system is likely to become compressed when striking an object, compressing the internal conductors together causing an electrical path to be completed thereby providing a fault signal typically communicated by a control wire to the motor controller to stop operation of the door immediately.
In many environments it is desirable to monitor the safety switches and safety sensors typically utilized with power operated doors in a wireless environment, rather than require a 2-conductor or 4-conductor wire lead to track the operation of the door as it opens and closes. It is desirable to eliminate the wear and tear on such conductor as it tracks the door through many thousands of operations. In today's environment, motor operated doors typically are expected to last ten years or more thereby placing considerable physical wear and tear on the conductors which may track the motion of the door to facilitate the connection between safety edge sensors and the controller monitoring for obstructions indicated by such sensors. Eliminating such hard-wired connections is important, but maintaining failsafe reliability systemwide is paramount. Also important is an ability to continuously monitor a system regardless of whether the door being protected is actually in operation. The systems disclosed in the prior art lack such an important combination of features.